


93 Percent

by Hot_Mild_Sweet_n_Salty



Series: ShikaSaku Hanami 2020 [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Budding Romance, F/M, Flirting, Modern UA, Music band UA, Old Friends, Underground music, idk what else to put in the tags lol, number exchange, reconnecting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23359807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hot_Mild_Sweet_n_Salty/pseuds/Hot_Mild_Sweet_n_Salty
Summary: We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veinscarbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains93 percent stardust, with souls made of flameswe are all just stars that have human names-Nikita Gill, 93 Percent Stardust
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Nara Shikamaru
Series: ShikaSaku Hanami 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678945
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30
Collections: ShikaSaku Hanami 2020





	93 Percent

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt Two- Of Stardust and Galaxies

Shikamaru didn’t like going to big social gatherings, especially ones as high-energy as an underground music gig. But, much to his chagrin, Ino had forcibly dragged him away from his nap to pick up a few friends and take them to see the newest indie rock group she was in to. He didn’t mind too terribly, seeing as Ino was his childhood friend and she didn’t have total shit taste in music, and besides, Choji had agreed to come along this time, too. 

The club was crowded, and the atmosphere charged. There was a bar in the back, serving out alcohol if you could procure a convincing I.D (Shikamaru still had his from the last concert) and there was water or warm soda if you couldn’t. Shikamaru took the initiative to gathering up a few beers before any of the real party started—he would need a good buzz if he was to survive the night, even at the risk of getting dragged by his mom in the morning. 

The bodies pressed tightly against his, making it hard to move through to the front. He decided to instead stay in the back, where the crowd was thinned, and the speakers were less booming. The first band went up; they were a three-man band with way too much unhinged drumming and nowhere near enough palatable music. He scoffed lightly when they finally left the stage, the scattered applause reflecting his sentiment at their half-assed performance. 

The second group was much better, with more instruments implemented and a lead singer with a deep voice. A girl leaned against the wall next to him, capturing his attention. He watched her from the corner of his eye. She was familiar, but he couldn’t place why.   
She wasn’t looking at him, instead hyper-focused on the stage, swirling her drink slowly. She was cute, he thought, with bubblegum pink hair darkening at the roots and intelligent green eyes. The softness of her face betrayed her youngness—he figured she was around his age, if not a little older. His eyes trailed downward, taking in her form against his volition. 

She was dressed in almost all black (not that that was uncommon in that setting—in fact, the only article of non-black clothing Shikamaru had on was his green beanie) and wore chunky platform boots that boosted her meager height to the amazon warrior that Ino boasted. Her clothes were as soft as she, for the most part. A lace top with a high neck and a solid band of fabric around her breasts, a pleated black skirt and some fishnets made up a majority of the fit. Her leather jacket had pink flower petals cascading down the back and sleeves, and her nails were painted the same shade of pink as her hair, which hung around her shoulders in loose waves. 

Shikamaru ripped his gaze away from the girl, forcing himself to focus on the people up front. They were different than the ones from before. He had almost successfully blocked out the girls existence when Ino came shoving through the crowd, a bright, red-painted grin stretching across her face.

“Forehead! I was looking all over for you!” The pink haired girl pushed off the wall, stretching languidly. 

“Hey, Ino-pig, it’s been a while.” Shikamaru’s eyes widened. He watched them embrace, and it dawned on him just who he was looking at. Sakura Haruno, the mousey little bookworm that had disappeared in middle school. He barely remembered her, only recalling the snappish friendship she and Ino had shared since the fourth grade. He never understood why they stayed friends as long as they did—he figured that once she had stopped coming around, it was because her and Ino had finally cut ties. But, as he watched the two women interact, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that anymore. 

“I’m so glad you invited me to this place. I’m excited to see you preform.” _Preform? Were they only there so Ino could watch her childhood friend preform something on stage?_ Shikamaru huffed, choosing that moment to take a swig of his beer and push off the wall.

“Haruno,” he greeted. “It’s been a while.” She turned to him, a shy smile on her face. 

“Shikamaru. You look different.” He smirked, rocking back on his heels. 

“Yeah, well, six years does that to a person. What’ve you been up to?” Ino sent him a strange look, which turned knowing when he met her gaze. Squeezing Sakura’s hand quickly, she turned and left into the crowd. The natural brunette didn’t seem to notice, her attention locked on Shikamaru. 

“Oh, you know. Went to college for a while, dropped out to form a band, the usual.” She twirled a lock of hair around her fingers, and his eyes zeroed in on how the tip of her tongue traced her bottom lip. “What about you? Still hacking computers to switch up your bad grades?” He laughed good-naturedly, and she joined in easily. “I heard Ino mention that you invited us—well, her, but you know how she is. Are you preforming?” Sakura nodded.

“Me an’ the boys are going to be the last ones on stage. I’m glad you’re here to witness the birth of ‘The Galaxies Aboriginals.’ Back in middle school, you were one of the only ones who encouraged my music, even if we weren’t really friends. I really appreciate it.” Shikamaru blushed, rubbing at the back of his head.

“Heh. Well, you know me. Good ol’ reliable.” Sakura snorted, pink tinging her cheeks. Her brow furrowed, and she extracted her phone from her pocket. The case was the same soft pink as her hair and nails—he wondered if her entire wardrobe surrounded the hue. 

“I gotta’ go. It was nice to see you again, Shikamaru. Will you do me a favor and tell Ino to stick around after the show? We didn’t really get to talk very much, and I want to catch up with her.” Shikamaru nodded and waved as she turned to leave.

He wandered around as he waited for Sakura to appear on stage, managing to track down Ino, Choji and Kiba near the left front of the club. Kiba and Choji were engaged in a conversation with a couple of people next to them, two cute girls and an undeniably attractive guy. Kiba had his arm thrown over Choji’s shoulder and was laughing at something one of the strangers had said. Shikamaru had a suspicion the Inuzuka was (once again) trying to help Choji hook up. The guy looked into it, too.

Ino wriggled her eyebrows excitedly as soon as she saw Shikamaru. “So,” she drawled out, “how was your little catch-up with Sakura? She’s a real cutie, huh?” Shikamaru felt his ears burn, and he rolled his eyes. 

“She told me to make you stay after so you could hang out.” Ino huffed at his response, clearly reluctant to answer her properly. He pulled out his phone, ignoring the band on stage now. They were okay, but still not as good as that third band. 

They had been there nearly an hour-and-a-half at that point, and Shikamaru was getting antsy. He really did hate big crowds like this, and everything was starting to get an uncomfortable humming beneath his skin that was starting to overwhelm his senses. He felt Ino put a comforting hand on his shoulder, grounding him. A text lit up his phone screen.

**Yamahaha: Well b out o here soon. Skura should be nxt and u can take my car to leave. Ill make cho drive u. Thx 4 comin with**

He smiled softly, bumping his shoulder against Ino’s in thanks. She squeezed his shoulder twice, and he looked up. Finally, it was Sakura’s turn. 

It was another three-man band, but thankfully for the migraine building in the space between Shikamaru’s eyes, there wasn’t a single drumstick between the three. Instead, Sakura had an acoustic strapped in her arms, connected to the amp next to her feet. A small band of bells circled one ankle. The two guys behind her, both of which he easily recognized as Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki (like Sakura, he knew them from middle school, and a little bit of high school after), also held guitars of their own, one bass and one electric.

He was somewhat surprised that the three of them had started a band, since throughout high school, Sasuke and Naruto were notorious for having a shitty relationship, but as soon as the music started, he was glad they did.

Sakura was the lead, readily making an easy, weaving melody for the boys to follow. Her voice was heavenly, soft, and every other adjective for beautiful and amazing that Shikamaru had stowed away in his big brain. It was light and almost ethereal in a way, dancing seamlessly with Naruto’s raspy backup singing and Sasuke’s smooth timbre humming. 

They linked each song effortlessly, the ending notes of one bleeding into the opening of the next, never leaving an unwanted stretch of silence. Whenever there was a pause, Shikamaru held his breath in anticipation of the next note.

Everything around him bled away into nothingness. All he heard was the voice of one shy bookmouse from middle school confidently crooning into a microphone, all he saw was the way her body swayed with the music and how her lips formed each letter of each word, with all the finesse of an Olympian diver. 

He was shocked when the music ended. He immediately crashed from his high, blinking away tears of awe and frustration. Awe at the woman up front, frustration with the sudden weakness in his joints and heaviness of his bones. He was tired and half-drunk and in desperate need of a shower (it was one thing if he was hungover into the morning, but if his mom caught him smelling like booze and weed and sweat, she would rip his head off and kick it into the woods like a rubber ball), but a part of him also desperately wanted to stay behind with Ino and drink in the ambrosial presence of a single Sakura Haruno. 

Choji and Kiba wrapped their arms around his shoulders, and he groaned softly. His head was banging, the pain nearly unbearable.

“C’mon buddy,” Kiba murmured, “let’s get you out of here. I think you’ve had enough partying for tonight.” Choji hummed his sentiment, and together, the three young men traded the stifling air of the building for the cool breeze of the outdoors. 

Later, when his hair was dry and his headache subsided enough for him to breath and he lay awake in bed, Shikamaru hummed. It wasn’t a popular song by any means—in fact, he had only ever heard it once. But it was easily his favorite. 

He held onto her voice like it was a gift from god.

_We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins_

He rolled on his side, staring out the window. She looked so at ease up on that stage, cradling her instrument like a mother would her child.

_Carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains_

His phone was on his desk, on the other side of the room. He grimaced at the thought of getting up, but if he didn’t text Ino now, he would chicken out and not do it later.

_93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames_

**Me: Hey ino**  
**Me: Whats sakuras number?**  
**Yamahaha: took u long enuf**

_We are all just stars_

Shikamaru swallowed thickly. Staring down at his phone, he shakily tapped out a few words.

**Me: Hey sakura**  
**Me: Its shikamaru- I got your number from ino btw**  
**Sakura: Hey :)**  
**Me: Do you think we could hang out sometime? I really liked your music**  
**Sakura: Heck yeah**  
**Sakura: Im free on Friday night if u wanna go out then**  
**Me: sounds like a date**  
**Sakura: sounds like a date :)**

_That have people names_


End file.
